Stephen F Austin to E M Perry, 10-25-1828

I rec.d your kind and affectionate letter the other day and sent it
down to Brother—he came up a few days since with his wife and
is now here—he informs me that he wrote you by way of Orleans
just before he left home—

I truly sympathise with you on the loss of your infant—tho I have
seen so much trouble and misery amongst my fellow beings that I
doubt wheither we should too deeply grieve for the departure of
innocence and purity from this wretched world— There is another
and a better one, to doubt it would be to convert the shadows which
surround us in this life into the most horrible darkness

I send this by Mr Brown of St Charles and he has only a few
moments to wait being now on his way therefore cannot write you
a long letter. I wish you to inform me what plan you have adopted
or think of adopting as to Joel and Austin—

Brother is about engaging in the Mercantile business and I think
will soon be enabled to do an extensive and profitable one—

I am as yet at work at colonization and shall necessarily be tied
down here for some time to come—it is a troublesome business and re-
quires much more preserverance and patience than any one can
imagine who has not tried it— But I will go through with it—

You ask me how I like my sister in law— I am very well pleased
with her, and think Brown has made a happy choice— they live
very happily together and have the prospect of an heir this winter
or early in the spring, tho I presume he has written you relative to
his family matters—

I wrote you to send me the old Lead book kept by Ballard during
the year I worked the mines in partnership with Butler. M.r Ballard
knows that nothing was cleared that year. I sent a statement of the
a/cs. to Butler, but he pretends to claim (as I am informed) Many
thousand Dollars I know not exactly what kind of a man Ballard
is but have always thought him an honest man and I do not think
he will forward Butlers unjust claims to injure me— I wish Mr
Perry to sound him as he may deem prudent on the subject— The
truth is that the mines cleared nothing the year Butler and myself
worked them in partnership and I therefore owe him nothing on
that score

This country has been very healthy this year and we are getting on
pritty well in every respect— I will pay you a visit some time but
cannot tell when, it shall be as soon as possible— I know you
cannot visit me and I do not wish you to take such a journey— It
is too long, and exposed to some dangers— Remember me
affectionately to Mr Perry and all old friends and acquaintances